The division was created in September to enhance the agency's capabilities and help identify developing risks and trends in the financial markets.

On November 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Bruce Kraus and two other experts in the fields of risk management, structured finance, and corporate transactions have been named to senior positions in the SEC’s newly-established Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation. The division was created in September to enhance the agency's capabilities and help identify developing risks and trends in the financial markets. Mr. Kraus is currently serving as Counsel to the division’s Director, Henry T. C. Hu. By combining economic, financial, and legal analysis in a single group, this new division is expected to foster a fresh approach to exchanging ideas and upgrading agency expertise. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro discussed the importance of the new division in her November 5 speech at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She praised the appointees as having the kind of "modern capital markets expertise" that the SEC so badly needs.